2025 NJCAA DIII Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Ranking – Week 1
NEW ORLEANS – Jumbling is one way to describe how the new top-5 order appears in the Week 1 edition of the 2025 NJCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Ranking, released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
All top-5 preseason teams return in the top-5, but none is in the same position. At least one close observer says any of the five could win the national title.
The 2025 NJCAA Division III Cross Country Championships are set to take place at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge, Iowa, on Saturday, November 8.
National Coaches’ Rankings are presented by AthleticNET.
NJCAA Division III — Women's Cross Country
This Week's National Top Five
1
Kellogg (Mich.) CC
Kellogg (Mich.) CC
2
Joliet (Ill.) JC
Joliet (Ill.) JC
3
DuPage (Ill.)
DuPage (Ill.)
4
Mineral Area (Mo.)
Mineral Area (Mo.)
5
Jefferson (Mo.)
Jefferson (Mo.)
Cross Country Polls & Rankings
No. 1 – for the first time in program history – is Kellogg (Mich.) CC after a program-high No. 2 in the preseason rankings. The Bruins were fifth in Calvin’s Brian Diemer Classic, led by freshman Alicyn Gleesing as the top NJCAA DIII athlete.
Rising three spots to No. 2 is Joliet (Ill.) JC. The Wolves were the top NJCAA DIII squad at both the St. Francis (Ill.) Saints Twilight Invitational and North Central Invitational, finishing ahead of Region 4 rivals DuPage and Harper, respectively. Gabby Zid led the team in each race.
No. 3 is DuPage (Ill.), moving up one position. The Chaps were the top NJCAA DIII team at the Aurora Spartan Classic, with freshman Jessica Balmer leading the way.
Defending champion Mineral Area (Mo.) is No. 4. The Cardinals have been led by a pair of freshmen in their three races thus far – twice by current M-F National Athlete of the Week Emily Marriott and once by Clay Whittenburg. Also among their leaders is Alison Skiles, who was third individually in last year’s nationals.
Preseason No. 1 Jefferson (Mo.) is now No. 5. The Vikings are led by last week’s M-F National Athlete of the Week Sophia Mullins, who was runner-up in the Webster Invitational and followed up as the leading JUCO finisher in WashU’s Gabby Reuveni Invitational.
Completing the top-10 are No. 6 Union (N.J.), No. 7 Georgia Military, No. 8 Hudson Valley (N.Y.) CC, No. 9 Queensborough (N.Y.) CC and No. 10 Suffolk County (N.Y.) CC.
